The NBA just booted Topps and Upper Deck from their card licenses and gave an exclusive to Panini.
Yeah, the guys who make the stickers.
Now, this murders off Topps and Fleer basketball, two sets I've liked for decades, so I'm not terribly happy about this. However, after seeing this quote from The Sports Card File:
There have been overtures made by both Topps and Upper Deck during the past year to the NBA requesting a sole manufacturer license.
It seems to me that this is a little bit of karma biting them in the ass for squeezing Donruss out of their basball license a few years ago.
Of course monopolies are never good, and it's a concern that what works in the international market might not exactly work here. Then again, The history of basketball cards is littered with long stretches of nothin' followed by classic sets popping up to fill the void. And Donruss has shown quite definitively that there's money to be made with unlicensed products. So all is not lost, fellow hoops lovers. We have plenty to look forward to.
LIKE STICKERS!!!!
I LOVE STICKERS!!!!!1
3 comments:
My (hopeful) prediction:
Panini comes correct with some awesome 1970s-style oversized cards as their flagship product.
In other news, the NBA just committed to British Knights as the sole footwear provider to all players. (Look for the super cool gold BK button!)
So has Panini ever even done a jersey or autographed card? And this does kinda make sense with all of the European players in the NBA. Better marketing for them over there
I like stickers as much as the next guy but reading this makes me glad that I don't collect basketball cards...
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